The M Word
by mashymre
Summary: Inspired by Pokemon Yellow. After being captured by Team Rocket, Red encounters a strange and powerful Pokemon within the depths of Pokemon Mansion. Having lost his memory of the event, our young hero goes on a journey across Kanto to find his identity and the creature responsible for taking it.


The referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the match. "And there goes the battle! The challenger has emerged victorious!"

A deafening cheer rose from the crowd of excited Trainers. It wasn't often that a challenger was able to overcome Blaine. Most of of the time, they ended up walking away in defeat, covered in first-degree burns. But this time a kid had gotten the best of him-and to make matters more incredible, it was the second one that week.

Red let out a quiet sigh of relief, wiping away the sweat pouring down his face. It had been an incredible battle. Blaine had decades of experience on his side and more than once, Red had been certain that the wily old man had outfoxed him. In the end, the battle had come down to their final Pokemon: Blaine's Magmar and his own Pikachu. Despite the huge difference in strength, Pikachu had managed to come out on top. And that meant...

"Looks like I've burnt out," Blaine chuckled, reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a small, shiny emblem shaped like a flame. "That was a fine battle, young man. For winning, you've earned the Volcano Badge!"

Red stepped forward to accept his prize with a shy smile, pulling his cap down over his eyes to hide his embarrassment at being praised. Rubbing his Pikachu's head, he murmured, "Good job. You were great out there."

The mouse Pokemon squeaked proudly and puffed out its chest. In its mind, there had never been any doubt of their victory. The two of them had been partners for almost a year now. Together they'd climbed mountains, plumbed the depths of caves, crossed the sea, and faced countless opponents. This was just the latest step in their journey to the Pokemon League.

The crowd's roar, which had subsided a little while Red received his Badge, returned in full force. Red gave the onlookers a small wave, feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the attention of so many people. He'd never had an audience this big watch him battle before, but at least they were cheering. The all-female audience in Celadon had nearly booed him out of the Gym for winning against Erika. He couldn't help but wonder if the audience would be as pleased with the outcome as they were now if Blaine had also been a cute girl. Luckily, this thought process was interrupted before he could picture the old man in a bikini by a hand clapping down on his shoulder and a voice booming over the clamor.

"Hahaha! Looks like you've ignited the spark of passion in these youngsters!" Blaine shouted, drawing an orange disk out of his lab coat with a flourish and handing it to Red. "Before you go, I want you to have this, too!"

Red's jaw dropped and his heart swelled with gratitude. The label "TM38" was visible on the top of the disk. It was a Fire-Type Technical Machine, and a strong one at that. He'd been on the receiving end of the move it held quite a bit in the last match, so he knew just how devastating it could be. Tantalizing visions of his Charizard scorching its way through the final Gym danced at the back of his mind. He couldn't wait to try it out.

"Thankyouverymuchletsbattleagainsometime," he babbled, his cheeks flushing at the sound of his own stupid voice. Red had never been particularly skilled with words.

To his relief, Blaine didn't seem to notice his awkwardness. "No need to thank me, sonny! I see you recognize that TM. That's right-TM38 contains Fire Blast! A star burning as brightly as you deserves a move that burns hotter than the heavens for our rematch! We'll meet again, and when we do, I'll scorch you to a crisp!" Blaine said, extending a large, wrinkled hand.

Red couldn't help but grin. Something about Blaine's enthusiasm was infectious. Seizing the gnarled hand, he pumped it vigorously, his own sweaty hand completely engulfed in the old man's iron grip.

After exchanging goodbyes Red made his way for the exit, Pikachu scampering at his heels. Pushing the door open, he held it ajar long enough for his furry friend to slip through before stepping into the fading sunlight and taking a deep breath of the fresh tropical air.

"Just one more badge, Pikachu. Think we can do it?"

Pikachu scampered up his clothes and onto his shoulder. Nuzzling his face, it chirped, "Chuchu."

Red scratched under its chin with his forefinger. "Me too."

It looked like their journey was finally coming to an end. Only one more Gym remained before they could challenge the Pokemon League. It had taken them nearly a year to get to this point, a year of hard work, constant traveling, and more than a few rough patches. In spite of the hardships, their hard work and determination had paid off. Looking at his team now, it was hard to believe that only a few months ago Red had never trained a single Pokemon. In fact, he had hardly even seen them outside of books or TV. His mom didn't keep so much as a Pidgey to send mail.

Red plodded in the direction of the Pokemon Center, lost in thought. How long had it been since he'd seen his mom? Months, at the least. He still sent letters and called home every now and then, like she'd asked, but it just wasn't the same. He wondered if she would even believe him if he told her all that had happened. Maybe nobody would. He could hardly believe it himself. Besides, even if she did believe him, he'd probably be grounded for life once she found out that he'd been fighting Team Rocket.

He could hardly blame her for that, though. If there was a worse group of thugs in Kanto than Team Rocket, Red didn't want to meet them. At first glance they seemed like just a bunch of petty Pokemon thieves, but Team Rocket was a huge, vicious criminal empire with operations everywhere, like a giant ugly squid with tentacles reaching into every part of the region. Red had first encountered Rocket grunts in Mt. Moon, where they were illegally excavating and selling Pokemon fossils on the black market. With more than a little help from his Pokemon, he'd managed to throw a wrench in their plans and drive them out of the area. After that, he'd fought Team Rocket again in Cerulean City, then in Celadon, then he'd battled their leader in Saffron, then fought them again in Lavender Town-it seemed like no matter where he went, they were always there, doing something nefarious. So far there hadn't been any sign of them in Cinnabar, but knowing his luck it was probably just a matter of time.

Red was distracted from this line of thought by the impact of a wall against his face.

"Ow." Taking a step back, Red found that he'd walked right into the side of the Pokemon Center.

"Pika pi."

"Sorry. I'll be more careful."

Pikachu chirped sympathetically. It had been a long day for both of them.

It wasn't the first time this sort of thing had happened. If it weren't for sturdy construction, Pokemon Centers all over Kanto would probably have Red-shaped holes in the walls. At least this time nobody else was around to see it. The Gym Leader of Cerulean City had laughed for nearly an hour when she saw him smack into a wall. Red tried not to think about that. His ego still hadn't recovered.

Trying very hard to appear nonchalant, Red rubbed his nose and strolled around to the front of the building. "Well, looks like we're here, Pikachu. Let's get some rest."

The automatic doors slid open with a whoosh as Red stepped forward (nonchalantly, of course). A couple of Trainers lounging in the corner looked up as he came in before returning to what looked like an intense game of Go Magikarp. Behind the counter, Nurse Joy gave a wave.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center, twerp! Gee, you sure look ugly today! Have I mentioned that nobody even likes you?" she said, making an extremely rude gesture at him over the counter.

Red froze, his mouth hanging open in a perfect "o". None of the Joys had ever talked to him like this before. Had he done something wrong? Try as he might, he couldn't remember doing anything to upset her. Maybe it was all just a misunderstanding.

"Nurse Joy, wh-"

"Shut up, kid. Don't just stand there like the waste of space you are. Get over here and give me your worthless Pokemon, twerp!"

Red bit back an angry retort. He could handle being insulted himself-he'd gotten plenty of practice at it in his hometown-but there was no reason for her to insult his friends. If Nurse Joy was that mad at him, they would stay somewhere else for the night. He didn't want someone who thought Pokemon were worthless to take care of his team, anyway.

As he turned to leave, he discovered to his dismay that a Pokemon had moved between him and the door. It was a Vileplume, a bipedal Grass-type with a U-shaped body nearly as tall as he was. An unpleasant sneer was plastered across its dark face and the giant flower petals on top of its head were wobbling dangerously.

Pikachu growled, crackles of electricity building up in its cheeks. Red took a step back, thinking quickly. A Vileplume's pollen was potent enough to cause anything from allergy attacks to complete paralysis. If it loosed a single attack in here, everyone inside could be affected. He glanced at the Trainers in the corner, wondering if it belonged to one of them, but they paid him no attention. Instead, they were both strapping some sort of mask around their heads.

"Okay, Vileplume. Do it," said one of them in a muffled voice, looking up.

Gas masks, Red realized as the Vileplume shot a jet of yellow spores straight into his face. The effect was instantaneous. A horrible tingling sensation, like needles being jabbed into his skin, spread through his body while his muscles stiffened and his jaw locked shut. Reeling backward, Red lost his balance and toppled over. The back of his head slammed against the hard floor with an explosion of pain. Lights winked in front of his eyes.

His entire body felt impossible heavy, like it was made out of lead. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't so much as twitch his fingers. He could only lay there pathetically, his head lolled to the side, listening to Pikachu's cries of anger as it attacked the Vileplume. From somewhere behind him he could hear the sound of Nurse Joy coughing.

"Please-don't hurt him," she managed to gasp.

"Quite the actress, isn't she?" said another woman's voice. There was a loud thud, followed by a short burst of cold laughter, and Nurse Joy didn't speak again.

Red's heart sank. It looked like he had much bigger problems than an unfriendly nurse.

"Now then. Shall we introduce ourselves?" the woman's voice asked. It sounded horribly familiar.

"Yes, let's," giggled another voice, this one coming from one of the masked Trainers.

If he could have moved a single muscle, Red would have smacked himself in the forehead. He recognized those voices. They belonged to Jessie and James, members of Team Rocket. The two of them had been holding a grudge against him ever since he foiled their plans at Mt. Moon.

 _Get out of here, Pikachu! You can't fight them on your own_ , he thought, unable to force the words from his mouth.

"To protect the world from-Aack!" Jessie's voice screeched as an arc of electricity flashed through the air.

"Get the little rat! Weezing, go!" James snarled. There was the telltale "poof" as a Pokemon emerged from its Poke Ball, followed by a disgusting stench wafting through the air.

 _That's a Weezing alright_ , Red thought grimly. His nose was already beginning to feel like a warzone.

"Vileplume, use Sleep Powder. Stun Spore won't affect an Electric-type," said the voice that had commanded it to attack before.

"Hey, watch it Ariana! We just took our masks off!" said James, stamping his foot.

"You idiots! Did I tell you to do that? Didn't you listen to the plan at all?" snapped the one called Ariana.

"Sorry, boss," Jessie and James sighed in unison.

"Let's just get this over with. Vileplume, use Solarbeam instead," Ariana said impatiently.

From the corner of his eye, Red could see an ominous glow building up steadily in the doorway. Silently, he urged Pikachu to run away. After its battle with Magmar, it didn't stand a chance against a strong Grass-type.

There was a blinding flash of light, and a heartwrenching cry of pain. Jessie and James laughed.

"Aww, would you look at that? The twerp's little pet ran away. So much for loyalty, eh?" Jessie said, walking into Red's field of vision. All he could see was her boots, but he could feel her eyes boring into his skull as she leered down at him.

"Good help is so hard to find these days," James added, laughing at his own joke when nobody else did.

Ariana sighed. "Would you two get it over with already? Bag him and let's get out of here."

"Right away, boss," Jessie said, her boots moving closer. Gloved hands gripped Red's face, and a thick cloth was pulled over his head, engulfing him in darkness.


End file.
